


“I’ve got you. Breathe, okay? I’ve got you.”

by Ftballfangrl



Series: 31 days of Deledier [5]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: 31 days of Deledier, Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Sleep Paralysis, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 00:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19757161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ftballfangrl/pseuds/Ftballfangrl





	“I’ve got you. Breathe, okay? I’ve got you.”

He was drowning. He was drowning and he couldn’t breath and there was a weight on his chest that was threatening to carve his ribcage in two. Wave after wave of blackness rolled over him and he fought to move, to kick his legs, to swing his arms out in front of him. But he couldn’t move. Every single nerve in his body was alight with adrenaline and his vision was white as his eyes strained against the rising panic that was engulfing him. He tried to shake his head, to open his mouth so that he could scream. He needed help and he need to _move._

And then it was there, the shadow. It was lurking like it usually did, hovering and it was ready. It was ready to claim him, to seep up his legs, to creep across his chest and wrap itself around his neck. He could already feel those dark tendrils snaking their way across his skin, swallowing him until he was alone in the pitch black and all that was left was his diminishing heartbeat and that horrible, crushing sensation. 

_Help. Help. Help._

The word was a siren in his head, ricocheting around his skull. Invisible ties held him down and he pressed against them, willing a part of his body to respond, to flinch, to just do something. 

_Help. Help. Help._

_“_ Del?”

The sound was muffled and far away. A fresh wave of panic crested in his chest as he registered his name and he wanted to thrash, to fight because it couldn’t know his name. 

“Del,” the voice said again and a pang of recognition pierced the chaos. The roaring in his ears ebbed and flowed and then started to subside. His thoughts were fast and jumbled and he shivered as he felt a rush of blood travel down his limbs. A jagged breath ripped from his throat and he flung himself forwards. The ability to finally be able to move caused his brain to short circuit and he thrashed around, the need to find something to hold on to coursing through him. 

“Del. Dele. Look at me,” 

He felt something grab at his shoulders and a scream started to rise in his throat. But then his fingers curled in and he felt something smooth underneath them. He repeated the motion and he scrunched his face in confusion. He felt the pressure on his shoulder again and there was a familiar weight to it.

“Dele. Come on. You are in bed, it was just a dream. Come on, stay with me.”

The words cut through his wild thoughts and his vision started to clear. Shadows shifted in front of him and his eyes tried to refocus. He could still feel the prickle of panic tugging at the edges of his mind and he scrambled backwards as he brain registered the silhouette of a person in front of him. “No, no,” he whispered, lifting his hands up to press the heels of his palms against his eyelids. Everything was still confused as he fought for purchase, trying to find the crux that would stop him from slipping back under. 

He was in bed. It was sheets he could feel underneath his fingers, the heavy material pressing down on his legs was the duvet. He was OK, the shadow was gone, it was all gone. The weight on his shoulder wasn’t trying to harm him. It was a person, they were trying to help him. It was… 

“Eric.” 

The realisation slammed into him with brute force and he pushed himself to his knees, arms flung out in front of him. The darkness of the hotel room was still pressing in on him and the solid, reassuring feel of Eric’s body as he enclosed him in his arms caused a sob to escape from the back of his throat. 

He buried his face in the crook of Eric’s neck, shoulders shaking. Tears were wet on his face and he felt them slick against Eric’s skin. A hand came to rest on the back of his neck and he let out a long breath. He allowed himself to collapse, to fold himself in to Eric’s warmth, to allow himself to be completely surrounded by him. He lifted his head and found Eric’s gaze, breaths still coming thick and fast. Eric bought his hand round to cup his face and rubbed his thumb over Dele’s cheekbone. 

“I’ve got you. Breathe, okay? I’ve got you.”

Eric placed his forehead against his and Dele focused on Eric’s eyes, the glow from the street lights outside catching them, making them shine in the darkness. The panic was receding, curdling until it was a knot in the pit of his stomach and he raised his arms slightly, placing his hands on Eric’s chest. His body felt real again, it felt like he was fully back in the room and he nodded his head, letting Eric know he was going to be ok. He lightly brushed Eric’s cheek before reaching up and running his palm over the short hairs on the top of his head. He sighed at the sensation and a small smile played at the corner of Eric’s mouth.

“I’m sorry,’ he breathed into the space between them. 

“Del, we’ve been over this. I am here. I am always going to be here,” Eric said, gripping his face between his hands. His eyes were searching his face and Dele felt a tear run down his cheek. He nodded his head again, closing his eyes against the hot stinging threat of more tears. 

“I promised. And you know I keep my promises don’t you?” Eric asked, rubbing his thumbs along Dele’s jaw. Dele opened his eyes and bit his lip before leaning into Eric’s arms. Their mouths slid together for the briefest of seconds and Dele sighed. He snaked his arms around Eric’s neck and rested his forehead on his shoulder. 

Exhaustion washed over him and he slumped forwards. Dele wanted to tell Eric that yes, he knew. He knew he kept his promises, knew that he always would. He’d been keeping this particular promise for four years now. He’d been there, in the dead of the night, every single time Dele had needed him. He’d held him whilst he shook and he’d waited. Waited for Dele to come back to him, for the panic to subside, for the nightmares to slip away. He wanted to tell Eric that he was his safe place, that he knew he’d be OK as long as he was there. 

“Thank you,” was all he could muster in the end, tiredness blurring his voice at the edges. He felt Eric place a kiss to the side of his neck and he smiled sleepily as he whispered “I love you,” into his ear. And even though he had all of those things he wanted to say, in the end he knew those words were enough. 


End file.
